POSCO inaugurates Research and Development Lab focused on Critical Minerals in Australia
South Korean steel giant POSCO is pressing ahead with a strategy centered on advanced digital transformation and smart technology as a means to overcome challenges in the steel industry such as cheap imports, global trade tensions, and stringent environmental regulations.
Chairman Chang In-hwa has earmarked the reconstruction of steel competitiveness through digital transformation as one of POSCO's seven future innovations. The company is focusing on leading the industry's digital transformation, with the strategic integration of intelligent factory technology.
In this digital age, POSCO has moved beyond traditional smart factory automation, focusing on the collection and analysis of big data from all manufacturing processes. This enables automated decision-making aimed at boosting cost efficiency, product quality, and safety across its steel production operations.
One aspect of this strategy involves automating the critical converter refining process, reducing manual operations from 25 steps to a single touch. This process handles large batches of molten steel at high temperatures (around 1,600°C), and the new system incorporates IoT-based video monitoring, AI learning algorithms, and POSCO's proprietary AI heat balance model. This setup enables real-time analysis of operational data and optimization of refining methods.
POSCO demonstrates its embrace of smart technology in a human-AI-robotics collaboration at its Gwangyang steel plant. The synergy between humans, AI, and robotics has elevated production efficiency and enhanced safety at the facility.
This extensive adoption of smart technology underscores POSCO's determination to revitalize its steel sector competitiveness through cutting-edge digital transformation, positioning the company effectively in the challenging global market.
- The South Korean government is encouraged to support POSCO's digital transformation strategy, as it signifies a significant step towards boosting the country's steel industry competitiveness in the global market.
- The steel industry, with POSCO as a leading player, is on the verge of a transformation, propelled by the convergence of finance and technology, enabling efficient business operations and innovative product development.
- As POSCO integrates AI and IoT into its steel production, other industries such as energy may soon follow suit, adopting similar technologies to streamline their processes and reduce costs.
- The successful implementation of intelligent factory technology by POSCO may pave the way for government-industry collaborations in driving digital transformation across various business sectors, fostering economic growth and technological advancement in South Korea.
